(Yesterday, 12:20 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote I don't think so much demand for the Kingston Park links does exist. Hence the M71 being proposed for withdrawal and the free bus only running between 10am and 2pm, four days a week. Both appear to have very low passenger numbers. As the Newbiggin Hall route is 1 return trip, a few people travel on that. 

The 6 is a complicated route, going between 2 completely different things in the Metrocentre and the Freeman, and interworking with the 7 for a combined 2bph, but that doesn't go to Kingston Park, which leaves that with a hourly service. Usually hourly services are unusable really. Not sure where the demand for Kingston Park comes from, if there is any.

Most likely the 6 would be more frequent if they cut the route somewhere and possibly separated it from the 7. 

For clarification, I was in favour of the M71 being withdrawn. Just put forward a possible explanation for why it was kept for another year. Guess it will go next March.

Aye that's fair, not going to lie I always think the route should be cut in half with two services:

6/6A: Kingston Park Loop - Walker
7/7A: Kingston Park Loop - Metrocentre

Like this:


With the 18 being part of it aswell, and them running around the loop in each direction both hourly and every 30 minutes the rest of the route. 

Would tidy it up a bit as it's a bit of a route around the world in the Blakelaw area and realistically no-one is going end to end. Would open some new links like Byker to Gosforth and Kenton to Kingston Park aswell. 

What you do with the rest of the 18 I don't know, extend the 653 through maybe? It would open up new links in the Benton area through to Wallsend which don't exist currently.